Joel— the Day of the LORD
09.21.22
Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow—for their wickedness is great.” (14) Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. (Joel 3:13, 14)
We have four children, and while we named our oldest Janet after my maternal grandmother, our three boys all have Bible names—Joel, Jonathan and Jesse. Joel means ‘Jehovah is God!’ We know nothing else about him other than that his father’s name is Pethuel.
Joel was an excellent writer who was able to paint clear pictures with his words. His description of the invading locusts and the end-time gathering nations are exceptional. His writing can be described as both forceful and elegant.
The exact time of writing is hard to determine, but an earlier date, perhaps 800 BC, seems to make sense. The enemies of Israel that are named are their earlier enemies [Egypt, Edom, Tyre and Philistia]. Had he written after the exile, would he not have mentioned the later ones [Assyria, Babylon, Persia]? Furthermore, it is the skeptic who contends for the later date.
Joel is writing to Judah, the Southern Kingdom. He refers to his audience several times. There had recently been a drought and a locust plague that had stricken Judah without warning. The devastation that the locusts left was catastrophic. This plague was enough to get their attention. Joel used this as an object lesson of future judgment that would come if the nation did not repent.
We know what locusts can do, for their destructive presence has been in the USA and even in MN. One eyewitness to such a plague stated: “Their number was astounding; the whole face of the mountain was black with them. On they came like a living deluge. We dug trenches, and kindled fires, and beat and burned to death ‘heaps upon heaps’; but the effort was utterly useless. Wave after wave rolled up the mountainside, and poured over rocks, walls, ditches and hedges—those behind covering up and bridging over the masses already killed. It was perfectly appalling to watch this animated river as it flowed up the road, and ascended the hill above my house. For four days they continued to pass on toward the east…millions upon millions. In their march they devour every green thing, and with wonderful expedition. The noise made in marching and foraging was like that of a heavy shower on a distant forest…”
The major theme of this short book is ‘the Day of the Lord.’ The judgments to which Joel refers are both historical and future. Historically, he is pointing ahead to the invasion and captivity by Babylon, which occurred in 586 BC because the people failed to repent.
Prophetically, he is looking ahead to the great Day of the LORD when God will judge the earth, and Israel, during the Great Tribulation. The Day of the LORD refers to that period of time from the Rapture of the church to the time that Jesus returns to establish His Millennial Kingdom. It is a time of judgment. It is the Day of the Lord because it belongs to the LORD!
Our Lord Jesus Christ is presented in the book in several ways. He is the One who will judge the nations. He is the only hope of Israel. He is the Savior of all who will come to Him in faith, Jew and Gentile alike. Finally He is the One who has given the Holy Spirit to the earth and to the believer until He comes again. Blessed be His Name!